Author Archives: ~~Rhonda

Living in a small town, I share my life with my husband Russell (married in 1977), five children (one still at home), and six cats (one indoors, the others outside).

I teach an online class called “The Christmas Notebook” which is about all things holiday prep. The many facets of celebrating Christmas comprises one of my favorite hobbies. Other favorite things include gardening, reading, cooking, and scrapbooking.

raspberry pie

Raspberry Pie For one pie: 6 cups raspberries Or peaches or apples or blackberries, etc…the sugar mixture works for all of them. I do add a little freshly grated nutmeg to peach pie. Mix the following together and set aside. (For one pie.) 3/4 c. sugar 2 T. flour 2 T. instant tapioca 3/4 tsp. […]

flag cake

As we were celebrating the Fourth on Monday the 5th, with the Independence Day parade and fireworks in the evening, I made a special dessert for the occasion. How cool is that?? I found the idea and the recipe for the frosting on Elissa’s blog 17 and Baking. She attributes the idea to her father. […]

menu plan monday ~ july 5, 2010

Monday Grilled Chicken Hamburgers / Homemade Buns Veggie Packets Grilled Corn on the Cob Flag Cake Ice Cream Tuesday Ham Sandwiches / Homemade Bread Veggies / Dip Chips Wednesday DD#2’s Birthday Day Dinner / she hasn’t decided on a menu yet. Thursday Pork Chops Rice Steamed Green Beans Glazed Carrots Green Salad Friday Crunchy Lemonade […]

happy Fourth of July!

We hope you had a great Independence Day! The girls had a great time this evening lighting fire crackers, smoke bombs, and sparklers. While we waited for dusk, we watched the fire flies come up from grass in the front yard. Happy Independence Day! ~~Rhonda 🙂

a taste of the fourth

DH took the girls to the Fourth of July picnic this evening. They met one of DD’s friends there and had a wonderful time. Our exchange student had her first taste of cotton candy, something she had not seen before. She was also stymied by venison jerky at the butcher’s this morning. Said she had […]

into the garden

DH and I spent a little time in the garden this morning. The weather was so nice! We had some new hostas to plant. The bed under the mulberry tree is a great place to start hostas. There’s a small spring that seeps up through the soil and it keeps the ground moist and cool […]

welcome to the US!

We want to extend a big welcome to our exchange student from France! This evening DH and our daughters went to the airport to pick her up. She will be spending the month of July with us. What a trooper! Up for 24 straight hours and she is still smiling! 🙂 We have a long […]

cooler temps this week

We’re seeing cooler temperatures than we’ve had for a few weeks. It makes the garden much more enjoyable! ‘Heaven’s Trophy’ Purple Coneflowers ‘Monterrey Jack’ ‘Fooled Me’ This interesting blossom was not only a polymerus bloom, but a fused bloom, as well. Another polymerous bloom this week…’Catherine Woodbury.’ ‘Chicago Blackout’ ‘Carolicolassal’ ‘Dragon King’ ‘Accent on Style’ […]

menu plan monday ~ june 28, 2010

I’m late getting the menu posted this week. We were gone most of the day…went to Missouri to visit a nursery there. Wine Country Gardens. They have a few daylilies… So we were busy. 🙂 But we’re home now and I need to post this soon. Monday Eat out Tuesday Spaghetti and homemade sauce Garlic […]

blooms, blooms, blooms

The daylilies are remarkable right now. Lots of blooms, lots of color, lots of wonderful fragrance in the garden. The Japanese beetles have arrived and are leaving a few holes here and there. Thankfully, they do not eat daylilies! I’ve been checking the Queen Anne’s Lace for butterfly eggs, but haven’t found any yet. Perhaps […]